EU and Palestinian Relations

A five-year "Interim Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement on Trade and Co-operation" was signed between the European Community and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) on 24 February 1997 (see EU-PLO Agreements). The agreement was approved by the European Parliament on 9 April 1997 (372 votes in favour, 5 against, 4 abstentions). Because the Oslo Agreements did not allow the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to sign international agreements, it was signed by the PLO on behalf of the PNA. The first Joint Committee pursuant to this Interim Association Agreement was held on 23 May 2000 in Brussels.

After the start of the Oslo peace process, the European Community launched a special programme of assistance to the Palestinian population. The total amount of EU aid for the period 1994-98 was 1.5 billion of which 441 MECU on the EC budget, 864 MECU from member states and 184 MECU in loans from the European Investment Bank. To this figure should be added 0.5 billion ECU (169 MECU from EC budget and 336 from member states) to UNRWA. Thus the total amount of European aid for that period was 2 billion ECU.